Marion on the edge

Marion Jones faced a huge drugs scandal involving her former husband and shot-putter C J Hunter the last time she prepared to step into an Olympic arena in Sydney four years ago.

The 29-year-old American managed to put aside the furore in Australia, win three gold medals and later separated from Hunter.

Now the sprinter's hopes of even getting on to a plane for this summer's Games in Athens are in doubt because of her alleged links with a California sports supplement company accused of being at the centre of a widespread doping ring.

The so-called "Queen of the track" faces the possibility of being thrown out of athletics because of revolutionary, new anti-doping rules.

The regulations, written clearly in the code of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), allow authorities to punish athletes for "attempted use of a prohibited substance" - regardless of whether the drug has been found in their bodies in a positive test.

Jones, who won a record five medals in Sydney, has vehemently denied using banned drugs and has threatened to sue if the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) tries to stop her competing in Athens.

But there is no doubt that USADA, which has documentary evidence gathered in a federal investigation, and the United States Olympic Committee are determined to make sure a "clean" American team turns up in Athens after damaging drugs scandals of the past few years.

The affair involving the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative is dominating the athletics world with less than 75 days to go before the opening ceremony in Athens on 13 August.

It was named by US officials last year as the likely source of the designer steroid THG, a new test for which has since trapped Britain's European sprint champion Dwain Chambers and ruled him out of the Games.

Jones and her boyfriend Tim Montgomery, the 100metres world record holder, were among those who testified last year before a federal grand jury investigating the lab in the San Francisco area.

BALCO founder Victor Conte and three other men have been indicted in the case. A Senate committee obtained evidence from the grand jury and turned it over to USADA.

Now the anti-doping agency has been putting the evidence in front of athletes including Jones. Sprinter Kelli White was banned two weeks ago after being confronted with documents. Seized in a raid on BALCO last year, they also contain a calendar with the initials M.J. that investigators implied was a schedule for steroid use in 2001, and a cheque written from Jones's bank account to Conte.

The calendar for 2001 bears cryptic handwritten notations such as 29 March "Start Clear". The initials M.J. appear in the corner of the large page for that month.

A separate ledger includes notation such as "6 days off, 2 days on" with the name "Marion J". on the page.

The case is a reminder of the years following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 when evidence was revealed of the former East Germany's systematic doping regime.

The athletes had a special code in the GDR files and it was hard to nail down stars as definite cheats.

Jones's lawyers say the US files do not constitute evidence which prove beyond a reasonable doubt the sprinter has cheated.

Nevertheless Jones is likely to be at the centre of a legal battle in the run-up to the US Olympic trials in July.

Wherever she runs in Europe in the next few months, she is likely to face uneasy questions about the scandal.

Arne Ljungqvist, head of the International Olympic Committee medical commission, believes the Americans may have several of their big stars missing in Athens.

He said: "It's a clear risk or possibility this may happen. I would not be surprised, nor would others, if further names come up."

He said the IAAF, the world governing body of athletics, adopted the WADA rules earlier this year which make it possible for an athlete to be punished for possession of banned drugs or attempted use of any prohibited method.

He added: "A positive test is not necessarily required.

"But it is up to USADA to take the decision." WADA director general David Howman said the American authorities were determined to clear up the affair before Athens.

He said: "They are making every effort to ensure that all athletes who may be under a cloud or may have done something wrong in the past will be dealt with before Athens."